The parents of Mary Jo Kopechne, who broke 20 years of silence to talk about their daughter's drowning in Sen. Edward Kennedy's car at Chappaquiddick, say they regret telling the Ladies' Home Journal that their daughter did not die in vain because her death "kept the senator from becoming president." Gwen Kopechne, contacted last night at the couple's home in the Poconos, confirmed that her husband Joseph made the statement during an interview in January. But she said he was feeling "up tight" and that the statement came out wrong.

Phoebe Snow concert is really a conversation. On any given night she'll talk about how Janis Joplin made it safe for her to sing her guts out onstage. On every night she'll talk about her best friend and favorite hero: her late daughter, Valerie Rose, who lived a remarkable 31 years after being born with massive brain damage. On Friday night Snow probably will tell listeners at her Berks Jazz Fest gig that she's not a jazz vocalist, contrary to four decades of pigeonholing. That evening she'll prove that she's a singer of R&B ("Shakey Ground")

Christopher Bissey, the baby-faced Salisbury Township man accused of taking the lives of two teen-age Bethlehem girls at the Lehigh University Lookout, will begin the fight for his life this week as his trial gets under way. For the mother of 15-year-old Mary Orlando, and the siblings and father of 17-year-old Jennifer Grider, revenge will come if Bissey is found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. But for Grider's mother, Joan, too many questions remain unanswered.

A popular young Allentown woman died early Friday in a traffic accident on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia, according to Philadelphia authorities. Ciara Deprill, 19, an education major at Temple University and a 2004 honor roll graduate of Allen High School, died from cranio-cervical injury, said Jeff Moran, a spokesman for the Philadelphia medical examiner's office. She was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Dreamah Koll, also a Temple student, said Deprill's mother, Candace Deprill of Allentown.

The mother of an Allentown girl who was killed in September 1983 said yesterday that she hopes a newspaper advertisement will turn up more information about her daughter's death. In the ad in The Morning Call personals listing, Zewdi Reinbold said she is offering a "large reward" for information "leading to arrest and conviction of person(s) who acted or conspired in the death of Flora Reinbold." The body of the 16-year-old girl, who died of strangulation, was found in the Lehigh River on Sept.

Angelo Sergi, his eyes red and puffy from crying, was ordered to stand trial yesterday in the death of his 4-year-old daughter, who reportedly fell out of his car while not wearing a seat belt. District Justice Henry McCool of Tannersville held the 38-year-old Tobyhanna man for court on charges of homicide by motor vehicle, involuntary manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person. McCool dismissed a charge of endangering the welfare of children. On Dec. 8, Sergi was driving south on Route 611 with his daughter, Theresa.

by JOHN P. MARTIN And SUSAN RUIZ, The Morning Call | September 22, 1993

A sixth-grade student at East Hills Middle School in Bethlehem died unexpectedly Monday from a brain disease, stunning the school community and sending counselors swarming yesterday to the schools she attended. Lauren E. Clymer, 11, of Bethlehem Township, died at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia a day after she was hospitalized with meningoencephalitis, an inflammation of the brain and its surrounding tissue that strikes its victims suddenly. A local medical expert said the disease, unlike other forms of meningitis and encephalitis, is not contagious.

Eighteen hours. No verdict. For the second straight day, the jury in the Monroe County homicide trial of James H. Proctor Jr. failed Thursday to decide the fate of the former Allentown man accused of fatally beating his infant daughter in 1998. The panel of six men and six women started deliberating at 3 p.m. Wednesday and talked until nearly 10 p.m. before going to a local hotel where they are being sequestered. Talks began again about 9 a.m. Thursday and ended about 9:30 p.m., with the panel taking time out for dinner at a Stroudsburg restaurant.

A Tobyhanna man, whose 4-year-old daughter died in 1990 when she fell out of his car while not wearing a seat belt, yesterday was charged with striking his 7-year-old nephew. Coolbaugh Township Police charged Angelo A. Sergi, 39, with simple assault and endangering the welfare of children. He was arraigned by District Justice Clancy Dennis of Tobyhanna and freed on $5,000 recognizance bail. This is the second time Sergi has been investigated on charges of assaulting the boy who lives with the Sergi family.

Authorities still don't know what caused the March 25 death of a Pleasant Valley School District kindergartner. Six-year-old Cheyenne Brown of Kunkletown died en route to Palmerton Hospital after being slightly ill for two days. Medical authorities ruled out infectious disease, but some parents balked at letting their children return to the kindergarten annex at Polk Elementary School in Kresgeville. It's been eight weeks since Cheyenne died, but Carbon County Coroner Bruce Nalesnik said Monday he's still waiting for the results of toxicology and other tests.

A 6-year-old Kunkletown girl died suddenly and without explanation Thursday, and some parents of her kindergarten classmates at Polk Elementary School in Kresgeville are frightened. Cheyenne M. Brown died en route to Palmerton Hospital after being slightly ill for two days, and while officials say they have ruled out infectious disease, some parents on Tuesday still were not letting their children return to the school. State Department of Health spokesman Richard McGarvey said parents don't have to worry about their children being in the classroom.

Barbara Piotrowski was teaching a class of young dancers in her family's Bethlehem studio a year ago today when she received the phone call. It was her daughter's friend calling from West Palm Beach, crying and telling her to get to Florida as quickly as possible. Something had happened to Gwendel. Piotrowski took a flight from Lehigh Valley International Airport and landed in Florida late on Feb. 5, 2003, when she was quickly whisked away to the West Palm Beach Police Department by Christina Vignone, her daughter's friend.

The father of a 19-year-old woman who drowned in an apartment complex pool in Whitehall Township in July has sued the complex owners, claiming their negligence caused her death. In a suit filed in federal court in Allentown Thursday, Vitalis Ogutu of Whitehall said the owners of Lehigh Valley Apartments, on Maryland Circle, failed to maintain safe conditions at the complex's swimming pool, where his daughter Loreen Tambo died. The suit identified the owners and defendants as Dr. Steven Ackerman of Indiana and Eileen Bear of New Jersey.

When Darlene Dusza's 21-year-old daughter Michele was killed in a 2001 automobile accident, she found it difficult to cope with the loss. A family friend told Dusza, of Sellersville, about the Compassionate Friends, the national nonprofit organization that helps families deal with the death of a child. "They were a godsend," she said. "Just being able to talk to other parents who had been through the same thing and could guide you through it since they'd already been there was so important."

A Gilbert woman awaiting trial in the drowning death of her toddler daughter has been charged with causing an Oct. 13 car crash in Effort, harassing the man whose car she hit, then fleeing the scene when he called police. Danielle Balzano, 24, also smelled of alcohol after the crash, the man whose car she hit told police, but no alcohol-related charges were filed. Police last week charged Balzano with harassment and stalking, disorderly conduct, leaving the scene of an accident, failure to give information or render aid, failure to notify police, speeding and failing to wear a seat belt.

Phoebe Snow concert is really a conversation. On any given night she'll talk about how Janis Joplin made it safe for her to sing her guts out onstage. On every night she'll talk about her best friend and favorite hero: her late daughter, Valerie Rose, who lived a remarkable 31 years after being born with massive brain damage. On Friday night Snow probably will tell listeners at her Berks Jazz Fest gig that she's not a jazz vocalist, contrary to four decades of pigeonholing. That evening she'll prove that she's a singer of R&B ("Shakey Ground")

Monroe County's new district attorney, Jim Gregor, has decided not to prosecute a Tobyhanna man for the death of his 4-year-old daughter, who fell out of his car while not wearing a seat belt. On Dec. 8, 1990, Angelo A. Sergi was driving on Route 611 in Pocono Township when he made an illegal U-turn, police said. His daughter, Theresa, was leaning against a faulty passenger door and fell out of the car. Moments later, Theresa was fatally struck by a pickup truck along the dark highway.

The defense in the Montgomery County road rage trial rested Wednesday without defendant Douglas Heavlow taking the witness stand. Heavlow, 59, of Media is charged with third-degree murder, aggravated assault and other crimes in the July 20, 2000, death of 21-year-old Jennifer Lynn Getz on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Heavlow tailgated Getz on the turnpike's Northeast Extension just north of Norristown and then crashed into her after she moved to the right lane to get out of his way, according to trial testimony.

An Allentown man arrested 19 days ago for allegedly fatally injuring his 6-month-old daughter in Wind Gap in 1997 will face additional charges of abusing his 5-month-old son in 1998. State police at Belfast filed assault charges Wednesday against Juan Antonio Maldonado, 23, for injuries inflicted on his son, Javon. Maldonado is in Northampton County Prison awaiting a preliminary hearing on his daughter's death. When Maldonado's daughter, Mercedez Alyssa, died Sept. 27, 1997, he was not charged, because forensic pathologist Dr. Sara Funke of Allentown could not determine a cause of death.